San Francisco may consider mandatory solar panels
A San Francisco supervisor wants to require new buildings in the city to have solar panels, gardens or both on their roofs.
Supervisor David Chiu plans to introduce a resolution next week that would mandate the green additions.
Some towers going up downtown have limited roof space, and some single-family homes are not well-suited for solar panels.
But Chiu says his plan will work for commercial buildings.
The proposal – called Solar Vision 2020 – would seek to double the amount of solar electricity generated in the city to 50 megawatts in 2020.
It would also make a city program that provides money to defray the cost of solar panel installations permanent. The program is set to expire in 2018.
